After deciding to insert this particular blog into the Memory Lane category, I was reminded just how long Memory Lanes can be (especially at my age); because, having convinced myself that what I'm about to describe happened fourteen or fifteen years ago, more careful examination revealed that it had actually been ten years earlier.
In the very early nineties, whilst visiting my elder son and his wife in New York I paid a visit to the headquarters of The Academy coach company in Hoboken to discuss the possibilty of me driving for them in what might become a series of exchange visits between some of their own drivers and Greenline, the company I worked for in the UK.
Intriguingly, apart from the fact that I really did have the meeting, all I can recall with any clarity (and I wasn't inebriated or taking substances at the time) was catching a bus at a Manhattan bus station and crossing the Hudson river. I also remember that it was decided that my British PSV license would be valid; and because I was a day-trip driver taking (mainly) tourists from London to Stonehenge and Bath, for example, they would probably use me for Casino Trips to Atlantic City.
When I returned to work in the UK, I had a meeting with the managing director who was quite happy for me to take leave of absence and there was even mention of seeking a grant from a government department to cover travel and accommodation expenses. I can't remember which ministry it would have been; but there was a suggestion that I might have had to give an occasional lecture together with a detailed account of my experience.
In the event, much though I would have relished the opportunity of an all expenses paid summer with my son and his wife, I was appointed manager of Guildford bus station and the prospect of a nine-to-five job proved irresistible. Furthermore, a few years later, I was lucky enough to enjoy a coast-to-coast drive across the USA; and, later still, I took on a part-time job deliveing buses and coaches after I retired.
In the very early nineties, whilst visiting my elder son and his wife in New York I paid a visit to the headquarters of The Academy coach company in Hoboken to discuss the possibilty of me driving for them in what might become a series of exchange visits between some of their own drivers and Greenline, the company I worked for in the UK.
Intriguingly, apart from the fact that I really did have the meeting, all I can recall with any clarity (and I wasn't inebriated or taking substances at the time) was catching a bus at a Manhattan bus station and crossing the Hudson river. I also remember that it was decided that my British PSV license would be valid; and because I was a day-trip driver taking (mainly) tourists from London to Stonehenge and Bath, for example, they would probably use me for Casino Trips to Atlantic City.
When I returned to work in the UK, I had a meeting with the managing director who was quite happy for me to take leave of absence and there was even mention of seeking a grant from a government department to cover travel and accommodation expenses. I can't remember which ministry it would have been; but there was a suggestion that I might have had to give an occasional lecture together with a detailed account of my experience.
In the event, much though I would have relished the opportunity of an all expenses paid summer with my son and his wife, I was appointed manager of Guildford bus station and the prospect of a nine-to-five job proved irresistible. Furthermore, a few years later, I was lucky enough to enjoy a coast-to-coast drive across the USA; and, later still, I took on a part-time job deliveing buses and coaches after I retired.
